With increasing numbers presenting themselves at the emergency department, in recent weeks, the Trust has had to take to social media in urging patients to consider alternatives unless they absolutely need urgent treatment.

In a bid to cope with the anticipated demand, early in the New Year, the Trust’s plan involves the recruitment of clinical staff, partnership with care providers in the community and promotion of staff well-being.

Yesterday, when the Times visited Antrim Hospital, 79 patients had arrived in the emergency department between midnight and 1.10 pm with 17 people still awaiting beds, three ambulances en route and a total of 67 ambulances expected by the end of the day.

One patient had been waiting almost 20 hours for a bed in a medical ward and another, 19 hours and 47 minutes.

Staff discuss plans at Antrim Hospital.

On Tuesday, 48 patients had been waiting more than 12 hours for treatment.

One day last week, there were as many as 76 people waiting in casualty at one time with 27 arriving within one hour alone.

On average, 230 people attend Antrim Hospital’s emergency department each day. Approximately 88,500 are expected to have been treated this year. A quarter of this number have been childen.

Wendy Magowan, director of medicine and emergency medicine, said: “These pressures are not of Emergency Department’s making. When you run out of beds, people remain in the Emergency Department. There is nowhere to move on to. An acute hospital is so dependent on everyone else doing their job at the right time.

“It is not that ED is not putting the patients through, there is nowhere to put the patients to actually examine them. People in the waiting room worries staff.

“Our main issue is the workforce. There are not enough nurses.”

Currently there are 100 nursing vacancies at Antrim Hospital. The Trust is recruiting up to 30 nurses and six doctors who will go on to staff a new 24-bed ward when it opens in April.